Black Raven
by Dean'sNerdyAngel
Summary: A skinwalker disguised as a panther and raven is killing people without mercy. Before they realize what it is, Dean is injured and Sam is taken. Dean must find Sam before the creature makes Sam its skin.Hurt/Protective!Dean
1. Chapter 1

**Terrible title, I know. I had no idea what to call this. I'm writing this for fraggledragon's 3-Part Supernatural Animation that's on Youtube, because its just so amazing :D I'm sorry that the 1st chapter is rushed, but I kinda had to finish it ASAP. Second chapter, that will be posted later, will be a lot more detailed. Promise :P**

Dean Winchester awoke to the sound of rushing water.

His brother, Sam, was in the shower.

He opened one groggy eye and glanced at the clock on the motel bedside table. It read 6:00 AM.

"Oh God…why am I awake at all?" he grumbled.

Groaning, he turned himself over to his side, trying to drown out every single sound that dared disturb him.

He sighed in content against the softness of the motel bed. This motel was in better shape than they usually booked, since Sam had picked up more money than Dean expected when he was in Hell.

He was about to drift into sleep again when he felt a pillow hit his head.

"Get up, dude." Sam called to him.

Dean moaned. "Sam. We just finished a job. Sleeping late is my reward for saving a family from a poltergeist." he stated.

"You can sleep in the car." Sam suggested.

"And let you drive? Not a chance. Anyway, why are you talking about getting in the car so soon?" Dean asked.

"I just got a call from Bobby. There's been some brutal animal-like killings that came out of nowhere in Ohio." Sam explained.

Dean sat up in his bed, and since his chest was bare, he grabbed a shirt and threw it over himself. "Werewolf?" Dean guessed.

"Maybe. We might as well check it out." Sam said, reaching for his duffel bag.

Dean yawned and got up from the bed. Deciding that he really needed a shower, he threw off the shirt he had just put on and headed for the shower.

"Fine with me. But I need a shower. Oh, and we're stopping for breakfast. I need some bacon."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I thought pie was your favorite food."

"It is. But bacon is my favorite breakfast." Dean said.

Sam shook his head and shuffled through his bag.

"Seriously, Sam. I need me some bacon."

* * *

"_Livin' easy, livin' free…" _

"_On a season ticket to a one way ride…" _

"_I'm on the highway to Hell." _

"_Yeah I'm on the highway to Hell…" _

Dean sang along to ACDC's "Highway To Hell" as if there wasn't a care in the world.

They were now about 20 minutes away from (put city here) Ohio and it had been a good 4 hours of driving. Dean was ready to grab some food, find a motel, and start working the case tomorrow.

Though he knew Sam would want to start today. Lately Sam had been very insistent on hunts, making sure they checked the very convincing paper ads, or Bobby's suggestions, and Dean really didn't mind.

He would do anything to at least try to make up for his time in Hell, not saving people. Hurting people.

Nothing could really take that away, or make up for that, because it was there, in his mind to torture him for the rest of his life.

"A tortured mind for the tortured soul," he muttered ever so quietly.

Sam looked up from his map. "What was that, Dean?" he asked.

"Nothin'. Just thinking out loud." Dean said quickly.

Sam looked skeptical, but he let it go. "So, we have a witness."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, her name's Kara Josone. She saw her husband mauled by a…" Sam paused to read. "by a large, growling and snarling, black animal."

"Kinda sounds like a werewolf."

"Yeah, except that when the bodies were found, the flesh was literally ripped to shreds. More skeleton than body. And that's not really what werewolves do. They just take the heart and go." Sam mused.

"Dunno, Sam. A crazy animal out there or something? Dean ,said shrugging.

"No, I think there is something. We'll just talk to this Kara girl and look around."

"So, no connections to the murders?"

"Not what I can find. They were pretty random people. All around town, no rap sheets, good families, all the happy ending stuff." Sam sighed.

"Great. Well, this is pretty much a longshot, so…I say we grab food and then swing in by a motel. I'm starving." Dean said, nodding toward a diner.

"Of course you're hungry."

"Don't judge Sam."

* * *

The next day, Sam and Dean dressed in suits, and decided to go as FBI, just to get the information by authority.

Dean grumbled as he buttoned his suit, as he did almost every time. "I still and always will hate suits."

"I've got that into my head, Dean. You say it more than I can count."

"Doesn't mean I can't complain."

When they finally headed to the car, and they were driving to Kara's house, Dean remarked, "You know, I kinda expected you to be all over stopping the seals from breaking. Instead you're pretty determined to kill every supernatural bitch we come across."

Sam shrugged. "I just want to, I guess. I want to save these people. It seems like we're the only ones who can, you know?"

Dean nodded. "But we also need some fun time. I say we head to Vegas after this hunt."

"Vegas?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I mean, in my year when I sold my soul, I kept suggesting that go to Vegas. And you turned me down. So, why not go there in the tense times?" Dean smirked.

"Whatever, Dean."

"…You say that a lot."

* * *

"So you….saw your husband being torn to shreds?" Sam asked, his face concerned and sympathetic.

"Y-yes. The animal….it was huge. I-I thought maybe it was a black bear or something, but…" Kara looked away. She ran a hand through her short blond hair, her blue eyes stifling tears.

"But what?" Dean asked.

"I think maybe I was seeing things…yes, I'm sure I was seeing things." Kara said shakily.

"Ma'am, we need to know everything." Dean stated.

Kara looked at him. "Um, all right. I think…I maybe saw….when it turned to look at me, in the forest, its eyes….they were…they were yellow. Bright, bright yellow. Like a big cat's. Have you…you ever seen anything like that?" Kara asked fearfully.

"No, ma'am, but we'll definitely look into. Thank you for your time."

They got into the Impala again, and Dean sighed. "I dunno, Sam. This is pretty weird, but not our kind of weird."

"Dean, I spoke to another of the victims on the phone while you were drinking coffee with Kara. He mentioned that there was a break in, to take his daughter and wife when he was gone, but the lock was picked. Do you honestly think that a big black animal…thing with yellow eyes could do that?"

"Uh, no. Think a psycho is controlling a weird animal thing to cause trouble or shit?"

"Its possible, I suppose."

"I say we check out the forest area tonight. That's our biggest lead." Dean said.

"I guess. Won't the police be there, though?"

"Not when we order them to screw off."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay then. I suppose you'll that to yourself?"

"Of course."

* * *

Sam packed up his guns, sorting out different weapons.

Dean walked into the room and grabbed a beer. "Well, I called the cops. Believed me when I said to back off for our FBI investigation."

"They believed you? Wow. This town must be kind of down in the brain." Sam snorted.

"Hilarious."

For what it seemed to be the hundredth time, Dean and Sam got into the Impala and headed to the forest.

It was a short way, so Dean and Sam remained at the ready in the clearing of the woods.

Dean sighed. "What time is it?"

"11:30."

"And how long would we have to wait?"

"No idea."

"Helpful."

And still they waited. A crow cawed, the trees rustled, the moon shone.

No stars appeared, only a blackish purplish sky.

And it was almost absolutely silent.

But then, right when Sam's watch ticked to 12:00 AM, a low growl echoed through the trees.

**So...whadya think? Like I said, this is rushed, but the second chapter will be better. Feedback is love! **

**~Jess  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I finished it early, didnt I? I had the whole day to myself so I spent my time typing this. ^_^ In answer to the 2 sentences, the panther creature had caught some victims before it met up with Dean and Sam. **

A pile of bodies lay in the dark around the forest area. They were nearly skeletons, flesh in pieces and the last of blood dripping out.

The black, menacing panther-like creature, bloody from the gunshots that Dean and Sam had shot into him over and over again, stood on two legs, breathing heavily. He snarled, daring the Winchester brothers to come any closer. Dean, frustrated, just shot the monster again. The panther fell, and when Sam and Dean lowered their guns, Dean asked, "Think its dead this time?"

In answer to his question, the panther's yellow eyes snapped open, and he growled.

"Umm…no." Sam muttered. Realizing that they couldn't kill it with their current weapons, they did one thing that they did very rarely. They ran.

And right when the brothers got into the '67 Chevy Impala, a slick, black raven slid out from the panther's body, transforming itself into the bird. It flew off toward the car as Dean and Sam drove away.

* * *

After driving for about a half hour, Dean finally said something.

"I hate cats."

"It wasn't a cat, Dean." Sam corrected.

"It was cat-like, that's enough." Dean shrugged.

"I think it was a panther." Sam said.

"You mean 'roaming-the-moors' type panther?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged absently. "Well, why not? Black panthers are the most famous of big cat sightings."

"How come everything we hit it with just bounced off?" Dean grumbled, a little pissed off that they didn't kill the bitch.

"I don't know. There was a lot of blood, though." Sam reasoned.

"I think most of that came from his intestine noodles take-away," Dean scoffed.

"We can't be sure all the blood was the victims." Sam said, shaking his head slightly.

"All I know is it was still upright and pissed no matter what we threw at it." Dean said.

Sam sighed, and ran a hand threw his hair. "I guess I'll give Bobby a call, since we have no idea what we're up against."

"We gotta kill it quick though. That bitch kills more people than we thought at first." Dean said.

Sam nodded and started to pull out his Treo, but Dean stopped him and stopped the car to side of the road. "I'll do it." he insisted, and he grabbed his own cell phone, dialing Bobby. It was just a natural action to do, because when you needed research to do, and you needed help to figure out how the hell to kill something, Bobby Singer was the guy to go to.

The brothers both got out of the car to keep a lookout for trouble.

When Bobby picked up, Dean explained what happened. "We couldn't kill it."

"What do you mean you couldn't kill it? Have you gone soft boy?" Bobby asked in his usual slightly gruff, no nonsense voice.

"We hit it with everything, son of a bitch just kept getting back up." Dean said. Normally he'd be snapping at whoever was on the phone for not just getting him the information right away, but Bobby wasn't the one to mess with.

Bobby sighed. "Since seals started breakin', there's all kinds of weird out there." Soon after a an angel had rescued Dean from Hell, signs of the 66 seals of the Apocalypse had occurred. Since then, they'd been struggling to stop the seals from breaking, but it wasn't always easy to find them, much less stop them.

Sam shifted, looking around in the darkness of the night. The only light came from the moon and the headlights of the Impala, and something told him that they weren't alone.

"Dean, we need to go." Sam warned, but Dean only waved a hand to silence him.

Back on the phone, Bobby said, "You boys make your way back here and I'll see what I can find out."

"All right," he said before hanging up. He got into the driver's seat of his car. "Let's go, Sammy."

Sam took one last long look at the trees and such before getting into the passenger's seat.

As the car took off, a black raven lifted itself from a tree and still followed.

"I hate cats." Dean said again.

"So you keep saying." Sam said, rolling his eyes. They didn't notice the raven swooping right above the car. The raven dropped, and it landed on the window shield of the car, while transforming itself into a panther once again.

Dean and Sam already had their guns and was out of the car in just seconds. "What the hell?" Dean exclaimed.

Suddenly the panther charged at Dean, tackling him with his powerful claws, scratching at his face and chest, mostly aiming for the throat.

"Dean!" Sam shouted in alarm, gun in hand but knowing that the gun wouldn't work.

"Sam, run!" Dean yelled hoarsely, once the panther had backed off and aimed at Sam. But as soon Dean had made another noise, the panther whipped around and tackled Dean once again, clawing a chunk of flesh off his chest.

"DEAN!" Sam screamed. Knocking an unconscious Dean out of the way, the panther went for Sam. Sam didn't know what to do; he wouldn't be able to fend it off or kill it.

Snarling furiously, the panther slammed into Sam, and he knew no more.

* * *

Dean was first aware of the pain. Then the fact that he was lying on the road, and the realization that he couldn't feel Sam made him snap his eyes open. Groaning, he pulled himself upright against the car, clutching his bleeding chest. Panting, he called out, "Sam!"

Nothing but silence.

"SAM!" He yelled.

Deciding it was useless trying to any longer, and knowing that he could not kill the bitch with his condition he stumbled to the Impala, and he somehow managed to stay awake long enough to get into the car and drive, half asleep, to Bobby's house. If he just focused on that, he could keep his eyes open.

He could get to Bobby's, and they'd find Sam.

And Sam would be okay. Dean would make sure of that.

He wouldn't fail at his job. He may of sold his soul to save Sammy, and that had cost him his life, and a trip to Hell, but he would do it again if he had to.

It was his job. And he wouldn't fail. He couldn't.

Because that's what big brothers do.

* * *

Bobby had just searched his way through books to find something close to what the boys had described to him, but so far he wasn't getting any luck.

He knew that the brothers would arrive soon, and even though it was a lame attempt, he would at least try to convince them to get some rest and take a shower.

He heard a knock on the door.

"Speak of the devil." Bobby muttered.

He got up from his chair and walked over to the door.

When he opened the door, Bobby had expected to see two very tired and frustrated brothers, and the headstrong older one would be demanding answers.

Instead he saw Dean with one hand against the frame, keeping himself upright, bloody and bruised, and Bobby barely had time to register this before Dean say softly, "Bobby…it took Sam."

At that, Dean collapsed. Wiping the shock off his face, Bobby caught Dean before he hit the ground.

"Easy, son. I got you." Bobby grunted, trying to observe his injuries. He saw Dean's green eyes crack open, and once again, Dean whispered, "It took Sammy."

"I know. And we'll find him, okay, Dean? We'll find him." Bobby said firmly.

Dean nodded weakly and groaned, shifting slightly.

"I got you son," Bobby said softly as Dean fell unconscious.

"I got you."

Meanwhile, at an unknown location, Sam lay unconscious on the floor.

While the black panther skin lay beside him.

**Hmm. This is a different kind of skinwalker the brothers are dealing with, eh? What did you think of the second chapter? Let me know! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Dean could hear the panther's roars. Its growl, the look of his glistening and bloody teeth, coming toward him in a blur of black, and then…

Sammy was gone. Not dead, hopefully, but gone.

Then he could feel the pain of his injuries. The throbbing in his chest, the familiar feeling of a beaten face. He forced his eyes open, blinking sluggishly, clearing his head.

He recognized Bobby's house, the spare bed. He also realized Bobby was next to him.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." he said gruffly.

Shifting slightly on the bed, he turned his head more. "Ho long have I been out?" he rasped. His chest felt on fire. He gasped at the sudden burst of pain.

Bobby reached out a hand on his shoulder. "Just stay still. You've been out for most of the day. Its evening." he said, eyeing the bandages, seeing the bleeding had started again, and was starting to seep through the wrap.

"Damn it…Bobby. What…about Sam?" Dean said, starting to feel dizzy. Bobby handed him some water, and drank big gulps of it gratefully.

"Take it easy. I've been doing some research while you were out." Bobby said, standing up and walking toward the cabinet and grabbed some fresh bandages.

"Find anything?" Dean asked, trying to push down the pain, that he'd done for years.

"Yeah, I reckon I have…" Bobby said, helping him sit up. "Let me fix this bloody mess."

Dean tried to move away, but failed. "I'm fine, Bobby."

"No way. Your starting to bleed through that, and your not getting the information till I help you, you idjit." he grumbled, slowly and carefully peeling the bloody and old bandage off as Dean winced and used Bobby for support. Once he'd wrapped the fresh bandage around his chest, Bobby agreed to help Dean to the couch downstairs.

Dean just hoped Sam was okay.

At an unknown location, a hand scraped a knife against a hard rectangular object, sharpening it. Sharp object lay about him. The room seemed to be filled with bones, animal bones, set up in their skeleton, a deer head hanging on the wall, scrapes of blood on the counters. Post it notes cluttered some areas. The windows were boarded.

When Sam awoke, he found a bald guy with glasses, but the glasses were pure black. Not sunglasses, but something you would use to keep away a bright light.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded, feeling his hands bounded to the chair he was sitting on.

"Your demon slut left you with a nice blood marker. I could have smelled you miles away." the man said, still staring at Sam.

"What do you mean, smelled me?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't remember me?" he asked. Seeing the confusion in Sam's eyes, he started to pull off the glasses, revealing his white, soulless eyes. "Maybe this might help."

Sam's eyes widened in shock as the man suddenly transformed into the snarling form of the black panther.

"A skin walker?" Dean asked, as Bobby settled him on the couch. He put a hand to his chest, clutching it.

Bobby sat down with a sigh. "It's the only thing that makes sense. More than one skin, more than one transformation." he explained, motioning towards a book with details of a skin walker.

"This thing is a human prancing around in animal skins?" Dean asked. He reached toward a shirt and started to carefully put it on.

"Its believed that a human can become an animal by wearing its skin." Bobby said.

"What's this got to do with Sam?" Dean asked.

"I have a theory about that but you ain't gonna like it." Bobby warned.

Dean shrugged, then realization hit. "Oh hell no, you think this thing wants to wear him like a freakin' prom dress?" Dean exclaimed.

"That would be my guess." Bobby said flatly.

Dean started to stand up. "Bobby, we need to find this thing before it kills him!"

"I have a theory where we might find him too." Bobby said, grabbing a newspaper slip. "Last year, a man named Adam Butler created hell in his church when he claimed to be possessed by a demon."

He paused a for a second, glancing at Dean, who raised an eyebrow in a signal to continue. "The locals shunned him, then people and animals started to go missing. Local zoo lost a panther, never found him."

Dean smirked. "So we have some freak assed shape shifter to gank? Sounds like fun."

Back at the house, the creature started explaining to Sam, who was now being punched repeatedly in the face, why Sam was needed.

"He used my body, ruined it. Turned my eyes black. My body is falling apart, living like an animal just to survive," the man paused. "The things he made made me do…"

But then he glanced at Sam again. "I waited for the day I found the marker, a body I can use for my final transformation. He sent me you. Your skin will be perfect."

He walked over to Sam, leaning toward his sweat-soaked face. "It might hurt a little,"

Before Sam could respond, he felt a prick in his neck and was out cold within a matter of seconds.

* * *

Dean drove the Impala, wincing, but of course, he managed to hide his pain from Bobby. Sort of.

"I should be driving," Bobby scowled, crossing his arms.

Dean sighed. "Bobby, I'm fine." he said irritably.

"No, you're not fine. You're just stubborn." Bobby grumbled.

"I'm also the better driver," Dean shot back.

Bobby slumped in the seat, still scowling. "Smartass," he growled. Then he saw Dean's worried expression. "Dean?"

"Bobby, what if...?" Dean started, his voice gravelly. He cleared his throat. "I mean what if we get there and...how will we know?"

Bobby shrugged. "He's your brother, Dean. You'll be able to tell if its really him or not."

Dean nodded, staring straight at the road, not daring to think of what Sam might become...

* * *

In the house, Sam lay unconscious and bound on a metal table, his chest bare. The man, smirking, took a wide knife and rubbed a cloth around, cleaning it.

_No one will hear his screams, _the man thought.

He turned towards Sam's body, knife at the ready.


End file.
